Traffic doesn’t break for holiday

With Thanksgiving upon us, many will take a break to see friends and family, but many motorists aren’t to enjoy the trip. Metro Networks, a leading traffic reporting operation, has identified what it calls the top ten worst holiday traffic tie-ups in America.

They’re top 10 for the holiday:

• New York City -- The Throgs Neck Bridge and Whitestone Bridge, both of which connect the Bronx and Queens, are key choke points along the main artery connecting upstate New York, Connecticut and Long Island.
• Los Angeles -- Northbound I-5 from Van Nuys through Castaic and Southbound through Orange County. Holiday travelers head to San Francisco, Fresno, and other Northern California cities use I-5 northbound, while southbound attracts those travelers heading towards San Diego and Tijuana.
• Chicago -- The combination of the Borman Expressway I-80/94 and the Tri-State Tollway is the most heavily traveled stretch of interstate in the Wisconsin-Illinois-Indiana Tri-State area. Even worse, the Tollway is currently under construction.
• Philadelphia -- Northbound I-476 from the NB Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from the Mid-County tolls up to Lansdale. This stretch of roadway can back up more than 12 miles as a result of motorists heading up to the Pocono Mountains for the holidays.
• San Francisco -- Eastbound I-80 through Sacramento to Tahoe. San Franciscans travel this route to the nearby ski resorts and mountains.
• Boston -- Westbound Massachusetts Turnpike from downtown Boston to I- 84 in Sturbridge. This a 56-mile stretch that on the day before Thanksgiving has been known to completely back-up due to I-84 serving as the main route south connecting Boston with the rest of the Eastern Seaboard.
• Dallas -- Highway 121 between the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road in Frisco. This is primarily due to over 3 million sq.-ft. of retail space located in the area.
• Washington DC -- Southbound I-95 from Springfield, MD through Fredericksburg, VA. This 30-mile stretch south of Washington DC experiences extensive delays on a regular basis, and is only worse on holidays.
• Atlanta – I-285 (Perimeter Highway) in both directions between I-75 and I-85. This is a main route for shoppers heading to area malls.
• Detroit -- Northbound US 23/I-75 merge. At Thanksgiving time, this merge experiences extreme congestion due to hunters heading north for the opening of Firearm Deer Season.

  Despite motorists facing historic highs in gasoline prices, AAA expects more autos on the road for holiday travel, prediciting that 37.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 0.8% increase from last year’s 37 million travelers.

  “Higher prices and sagging consumer confidence will make Thanksgiving travel growth a bit less robust this holiday, although airports and highways will be as busy as ever,” said AAA CEO & president Robert L. Darbelnet. “Prices for gasoline, hotel rooms and rental cars have increased, but that will not keep people from traveling.”